June 6, 2013

Qatar Railways, the state rail company, has awarded design and build contracts on four major sections for Phase 1 of the Doha Metro, totaling $8.4 billion (QR30 billion) and to be operational before 2020. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Qatar Rail said construction is due to begin later this year and includes the previously-announced Red Line North project, major stations at Msheireb and Education City, as well as the Red Line South and Green Line. The company had initially stated last year that construction would begin in early 2013, but then delayed awarding tenders by some six months, saying it needed more time to evaluate the bids. Speaking at the World Stadium Congress in Doha on Tuesday, Qatar Rail commercial manager Stephen Lines said some 26 tunnel-boring machines are being employed to complete the ambition project on time, which will ultimately include 48 metro stations at a length of 131km. The four components of the Doha Metro’s first phase include:

Red Line North (RLN): This line will run from Msheireb to the Doha Golf Course via West Bay, with seven underground stations. Continue Reading →

May 19, 2013

A group of companies led by Italian firm Impregilo has been awarded the first major contract on the Doha Metro project, a statement from the company said. The consortium will develop the underground “Red Line” of the Doha Metro at a cost of some $2 billion (QR8.4 billion). SK Engineering & Construction and Galfar Engineering & Contracting are the other two companies involved in the project, Arabian Business reports, citing Italian media. Doha’s upcoming Red Line will run 13km north from the Msheireb Downtown development toward Lusail through a total of seven stations.
The Msheireb station, which broke ground last October, is expected to serve as a hub for the Red Line, as well as the metro’s Green and Gold lines. The Blue Line is the fourth line of the Doha Metro. Continue Reading →

February 21, 2013

MEED: Thousands of trucks from new construction projects to add to Qatar’s road woes
Traffic woes in Qatar are going to get a lot worse before they get better, regional business intelligence group MEED has warned. That’s because the billions of dollars of mega projects that Qatar is embarking on before the 2022 World Cup will require a countless amount of steel and other construction materials. All of that will have to be transported via trucks, MEED states. Just one of those projects, QRail’s Doha Metro, is expected to create some 4,000 truck movements daily, the company has said. The upcoming $5.5 billion new sea port and already underway construction at Lusail and Doha expressways, as well as other billion-dollar developments, will also contribute to the congestion. Continue Reading →

February 18, 2013

Qatar Rail will begin awarding contracts for the ambitious Doha Metro project, among others, “soon,” and excavation work for underground rail lines will start by the end of this year, a senior company official has said. “Construction work for Qatar Rail project will begin by the end of 2013 and during the peak construction period, over 20,000 workers are expected to work daily until 2016,” Ahmed Nassar Al Kowsi, Logistics Director of Qatar Rail, told the Peninsula. Tenders for the country’s planned metro system were pushed back last year when officials said they needed more time to review and evaluate the bids. In August, QRail did sign five contracts worth some $406 million for management of the lines and stations, as well as for enabling work and security. Despite the delays and promises that project contracts would be awarded by the end of 2012, Al Kowsi told the newspaper “we are exactly on schedule.”
In a nod to the the enormity of the project, Al Kowsi added:

“Qatar Rail will need an amount of steel equivalent to a quantity from which about 200 Eiffel towers can be built. And the amount of excavation material generated from the tunnels will be capable of building seven pyramids of Egypt.”

Although the overall national network isn’t due to be completed until at least 2026, the Doha Metro Red Line, termed phase 1, is to be operational in time for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup. Continue Reading →

January 17, 2013

Qatar appears to be making some headway on its ambitious $36 billion railway network. According to Al Sharq, construction on three metro stations, including in Msheireb, Al Rayyan and behind the Qatar National Museum, is expected to begin soon. Although the overall national network isn’t due to be completed until at least 2026, the Doha Metro Red Line, termed phase 1, is slated for operation in time for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup. It will travel from the south of Doha through the city toward Lusail. The Msheireb station, which broke ground last October, is expected to serve as a hub for the Red line, as well as the metro’s Green and Gold lines. Continue Reading →

October 11, 2012

Qatar’s pending $36bn railway network has nudged forward with the breaking of ground for the Msheireb station, which would eventually serve as a hub for the Doha Metro. Being built as part of the Msheireb downtown regeneration project, the metro station would be a meeting point for the Doha Metro’s Red, Green and Gold lines, Gulf Times reports. Although the overall national network isn’t due to be completed until at least 2026, the Doha Metro Red Line, termed phase 1, would be operational in time for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup. “The Phase 1 of Doha Metro is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2019,” Qatar Rail CEO Saad Ahmed al-Muhannadi told the local newspaper yesterday. Tenders for the underground metro are not expected to be awarded until early next year, although in August, QRail signed five contracts worth some $406 million for management of the lines and stations, as well as for enabling work and security. Continue Reading →

October 31, 2011

Doha’s $3 billion West Bay rail line project reportedly delayed over cost concerns
An 11-kilometer underground rail line planned for the West Bay area of Doha has been put on hold, according to a Zawya Dow Jones report. The underground rail, estimated to cost $3 billion, would feed into Qatar Railways Company’s forthcoming 300-kilometer Doha Metro Network. However, the West Bay project is apparently being frozen because it is now expected to go over budget. Other options – including making the railway above ground – are reportedly being considered to reduce costs. Credit: Photo of the underground Seattle Sound light rail system courtesy of Transportation for America Continue Reading →